Police release details of P'town fatal crash

PROVINCETOWN — One witness to the deadly crash Nov. 1 on Route 6 looked in her rear-view mirror and saw the gray Subaru approaching — very quickly.

It was just before noon, and at the wheel of the Subaru Legacy was Morgan Gaughan, a New York City broker who was visiting his aunt and cousin locally. Gaughan was near the Truro town line, headed into Provincetown. The fast-moving Subaru, estimated to be going between 70 and 90 mph, passed the witness's car on the right, then veered left and drove directly across the road and over a sandy and hilly median, his vehicle going airborne and ramming straight into a Mercedes-Benz.

Gaughan, 42, wasn't wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the car. He was flown by medical helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he was declared dead three hours later. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and torso, Cape and Islands First Assistant District Attorney Michael Trudeau said Friday. The Times requested the police report once the cause of death was final. A toxicology report mentioned in the report was not available Tuesday.

An investigation determined that Gaughan was at fault in the crash and would have been charged criminally with operating to endanger, the police report said. Given his death, no charges are being filed and the case is closed, the police said.

The driver of the 1978 Mercedes-Benz, Jesse Cartwright, 34 at the time of the crash, was taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis for treatment of cuts on his leg and face. Cartwright was released from the hospital later that day. There were no passengers in either car.

When the crash occurred, police closed all four lanes of Route 6 to traffic between Stott's Crossing in North Truro and Snail Road in Provincetown, and traffic was diverted to a parallel road, Route 6A. Route 6 was reopened about four hours later.

The Subaru belonged to Heather Collins of North Truro, police said. Gaughan had been visiting an aunt and cousin at the time of his death, according to an obituary at Peninsula Daily News Online in Washington.